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Many families of wealth struggle with a fundamental question: Can our wealth be sustained across generations and have a positive impact on those who use it? Through experience and research, a series of best practices for the successful transfer of multi-generational wealth has been identified to help reduce the likelihood of families succumbing to the paradigm of “shirtsleeves-to-shirtsleeves in three generations.” Families who devote time and effort to adopt the best practices will be better able to increase the 1 in 3 chance of maintaining wealth through multiple

Few problems are as vexing and seemingly impossible to resolve for families, advisors and trustees as the active alcoholic or addict, particularly those who continue to use after treatment. While low recovery rates for treatment and subsequent relapse may be understandable in the aggregate, on the individual level the experience is frustrating and unnerving for all concerned. Often the response is “treatment,” yet few family members and advisors are familiar with the success rates for treatment or what leads to sustained recovery.

How and when should wealthy parents educate their children about their assets and potential trusts? Having “The Talk” about wealth is a topic that provokes uncertainty and delay. Avoiding the exchange, however, only compounds the difficulties. Anxiety and reluctance about this conversation are understandable given the many risks associated with inherited wealth. This paper provides a few central guidelines to making "The Talk" an effective and positive experience for both generations.

Political events in 2016 gave rise to increasing nationalism and populism globally. Combined with a global slowdown in economic and trade growth, international integration may already have plateaued and could begin to reverse over the coming decade. Multinational organizations should prepare for potentially significant implications by carefully considering the political threats in the countries in which they operate.

The potential economic and development gains from gender equality are vast and well-documented—and yet they are currently being bypassed. This joint report with the United Nations Foundation explores the market potential of advancing gender equality. By investing in companies offering products and services that promote gender equality, investors can earn the “return on equality,” seizing profitable, under-tapped market opportunities. In fact, narrowing the global gender gap could add U.S. $12 trillion in annual gross domestic product.

Taking a closer look at the major market themes and strategic positioning for 2017, the view is slightly more optimistic than 2016, but includes many of the same themes that played out last year. Although there may only be a modest pickup in economic activity, equity markets should benefit from expectations of growth and strong corporate earnings. Given this backdrop, expect modest equity returns with developed economies outpacing emerging markets, interest rates to move modestly higher across the maturity curve, and bouts of volatility.

Anyone comparing diversified portfolio returns to domestic equity performance since the election may be disappointed, but this initial discouragement is misplaced. Instead, investors should remember the value of diversification and have confidence when positioning portfolios for the long term instead of reacting to current headlines. By taking this approach and holding onto recommended asset classes, investors can keep their eyes on the real prize of achieving their long-term wealth goals.

The acceleration of technological innovations and the challenges associated with adapting to them seem to point toward a tumultuous future. That future appears to be approaching faster than ever. Companies are finding it harder to maintain their positions in industries that are increasingly subject to disruption. And while investors may not be able to pinpoint precisely which companies or industries will lead the disruption—or fall victim to it—they should do what they can to plan to take advantage of these opportunities when they arise.

While currency traders were fixated throughout 2016 on the U.S. Federal Reserve’s outlook for short-term rates, we expect that changes in the value of the U.S. dollar in 2017 will be driven more by geopolitical events: most notably, the French Presidential election, a potential national election in Italy, as well as U.S.-China relations. In this edition of Global Foresight, we look across geographies, beginning with a focus on European politics and then a review of Japanese valuations. Jimmy Chang follows with an article on the U.S., China and emerging markets.

While the financial markets have moved well beyond the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, the public trust of a very large sector of the global economy is still severely marred due to continued bad behavior, lack of corporate transparency, accountability and proper risk management, as well as risky business practices. To overcome these shortcomings, the global investment community took on the role of “active stewardship” in capital markets.